Premier League Round 10 pits Nottingham Forest against Manchester City on 7 November 2026 at the City Ground, with the gap between these two clubs feeling much wider than three league places suggests. Forest sit 19th with six points from nine games, staring down the relegation zone under a manager four months into an unenviable job, whereas City sit second with 21 points, three behind Arsenal and very much still in a title race.
Oliver Glasner and Enzo Maresca have no meaningful head to head record to draw on, both having arrived in their current roles in the summer of 2026. Any prior meetings came at different clubs in different contexts, so this one comes down to current form and squad quality.
Forest's last five Premier League matches read L-D-L-L-L, which tells most of the story. A 0-2 defeat at Brentford on 31 October followed a 1-1 draw with Ipswich on 23 October, two results that typify a side unable to convert competitive spells into points. City's recent run is mixed but far less alarming: they beat RB Leipzig 3-2 in the Champions League on 4 November and lost 1-0 at Brighton in the league three days earlier. Two recent league defeats is not ideal, though Maresca can rotate his front three without meaningfully losing quality, something Glasner simply cannot do at this stage of his rebuild.
Glasner took charge on 6 July 2026 after replacing Vitor Pereira, who was himself one of five managers Forest cycled through in just over a year. That kind of instability takes time to undo and Glasner is still doing that work while already short of Elliot Anderson, who moved to City in the summer. The doubts over Nicolas Dominguez (muscle knock) and Igor Jesus (calf) add further pressure on a thin midfield and Nicolo Savona is out long term with a knee injury.
Maresca, in charge since 29 June 2026, has embedded his possession dominant style quickly. City travel without Antoine Semenyo, sidelined until December with a knee and leg problem but Erling Haaland, Elliot Anderson and Jeremy Doku are all available, so the attacking options are barely diminished.
Forest will likely set up in a 3-4-2-1 built around high pressing and quick transitions, with Morgan Gibbs-White, who has created 21 chances and two assists this season, operating as the creative hub behind Liam Delap. The two of them will be tested against City's midfield screen throughout and Murillo provides what defensive solidity there is at the base of the back three. Delap arrives low on confidence and perhaps not far from losing his starting spot if the goalless run continues.
City switch between a 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 depending on the game and either way Haaland will stress Forest's back three all evening: a high defensive line invites him in behind and his ability to hold up play overloads Murillo in one on one situations. Anderson, playing against his former club, will want to control the midfield tempo, while Doku's direct running from wide will target whichever Forest wing back he faces, a persistent problem given how exposed Forest's wide defenders become once they are drawn out of shape.
The doubts over Dominguez and Jesus are a real problem for Forest, limiting their midfield rotation and their ability to press high for extended spells. Glasner's side can make City uncomfortable early with that press but sustaining it for 90 minutes against this squad is a different matter entirely.
City won the reverse fixture in December 2025 and an FA Cup meeting in April 2025. Forest have snatched draws at the City Ground in previous seasons but the overall record favours the visitors and the current league gap reinforces that.
Forest's wing backs being dragged wide leaves their back three exposed to deliveries into the box, though who exactly delivers and attacks the ball for City in those situations matters more than any abstract advantage. Forest will look to use set pieces as a route back into the game through Gibbs-White's delivery but City's defensive organisation under Maresca has improved enough that cheap concessions from dead balls are becoming rarer.
Five managers in a year have left structural problems that four months of Glasner have not resolved. With Dominguez and Jesus both doubts, Forest's ability to press high and cover central ground simultaneously is compromised, leaving gaps between midfield and the back three that City's forwards are built to exploit. City, despite their recent league stumbles, have the squad quality and tactical clarity to grind this out comfortably: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester City.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
